Stones of Remembrance

As we concluded in the last post, reflecting on the past can be for either good or destructive purposes.  When it’s to recount the goodness of God in our lives, remembering to be grateful and give Him the praise for what He has done, it can bring great comfort and strength in times of trouble.

Looking Back: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

Most of us would agree, it’s good to look back and recount the blessings in our lives.  Reflecting on God’s faithfulness to us over the past can strengthen our faith and renew our gratitude toward Him.  Then, there were those times where we were not even aware of His presence, sustaining grace or protection over our lives as the famous poem, “Footsteps,” so graphically portrays.

X-Out the External

If you read my last blog post, you know that I urged you to look for the blessings when trials and afflictions come your way.  But my caveat was that “God is reserving some things to reveal to us in heaven.”  That was probably my understatement of the year, as you will see. 
In addition, following that writing I had the opportunity, thanks to a friend’s recommendation, to listen to a recently recorded conference address given by John Piper on suffering, with a clear teaching on how not to lose heart as we endure afflictions and times of trouble.  With your permission I want to draw on some of the key insights I gleaned from his message that I believe you will find uplifting.

When Blessings Hurt

It was just over two years ago that I first heard the diagnosis. 

Those dreaded words, “It’s cancer,” come with such gut-wrenching, life-changing force – like a dark curtain suddenly drawn that shuts out a sunny spring day vista.  Whatever the eventual outcome, you know that life will be different from then on and wonder just how much of a future you have.  Yet, through all that has happened to me since that day, I have found God’s grace and compassion to have been more than abundant.